Results tagged “texaseducationagency”

Good morning, Houston. If you're looking forward to Earthquest, the $600 million-plus, 250-acre theme park being planned for east Montgomery County, you should be happy to know that the park plan has gotten a boost: Earlier this month, Gov. Rick Perry signed legislation to enable tax incentives for the project. The park, to be built on Caney Creek near Highway 59 and FM 1485 in New Caney, is the brainchild of paleontologist Don Lessem,...

There is no word from HISD yet on whether three schools, Kashmere High, Sam Houston High and McReynolds Middle School, will open again next fall. HISD officials wouldn't discuss the issue, saying only that they're they're waiting on the Texas Education Agency to analyze students' test scores and decide whether or not these three campuses are "academically acceptable." The high schools are both located in north Houston, while McReynolds is east of downtown, just off...

The fire that destroyed part of Needville High School yesterday morning was deliberately set, investigators say — though it's still too early to say by whom. According to Fort Bend County fire officials, whoever started the blaze threw a concrete block through a side door at the school, then went inside and set fires in two different parts of the building: the principal's office and a science classroom. "Multiple points of origin led us to...

Good morning, Houston. If you're wondering where your transit dollars are going, check the stolen laptop market: Police are looking for a man who they say stole two computers from Metro's downtown headquarters building in mid-February. Seems the guy walked into the building Feb. 16, followed an employee to an eighth-floor conference room and picked up two laptops — unfortunately, we don't know whether he got away using public transportation, but we can dream....

Remember back in August, when the HISD board voted to close three underperforming schools if they didn't shape up? The schools in question — Kashmere High, Sam Houston High and McReynolds Middle School — are three of the lowest-performing in the state: Kashmere and Sam Houston have earned "academically unacceptable" ratings for four consecutive years, while McReynolds has been ranked one of Texas' bottom five schools three years in a row. Supporters of the schools...

It must be nice to be Jennifer Silva: In April, the Katy elementary school teacher was fired for taping kids' mouths shut to keep them quiet. In June, the state said she had to be re-hired or given $40,000 because the Katy school district didn't give her due process during a hearing on the issue. And now — you guessed it — Silva is walking away with the $40K and a new job.

Remember Jennifer Silva, the Katy elementary school teacher who was fired in April for taping students' mouths shut? Well, she's back in the news: On Wednesday, the Texas Education Agency ruled that Silva must be given her job back or paid her $40,000 annual salary because the Katy school district didn't give her due process during an appeal hearing on April 24. TEA Chief Deputy Commissioner Robert Scott ruled that the school district violated due...

The Chronicle looks today at the City Hall career of Rosita Hernandez, the former manager of the mayor pro tem's office — and finds that it started with a lie. When Rosita Hernandez applied for a job as a municipal court secretary in 1994, she wrote on her application that she graduated from Bell High School in Los Angeles County in 1983. But the school said she actually dropped out in the 10th grade to move to Texas. Oops!